Hinge structure for containers



Jan. 13, 1959 E. T. MORTON HINGE STRUCTURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Jun 1,1954 IN VEN TOR. EVA NJ 7*. MQET'QV United States Patent 2,867,842 HINGESTRUCTURE FOR CONTAINERS Evans T. Morton, Knoxville, Ill., assignor toAdmiral Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of DelawareApplication June 1, 1954, Serial No. 433,407

8 Claims. (Cl. 16-189) desired shape and which maybe easily maintainedin a sanitary condition.

It is the aim of the present invention to provide an improved hingestructure for the doors of such containers that may bereadily assembledin place without extraneous fastening means, such as screws, and inwhich resilient means associated with the pivoting means and thecontainer are provided for maintaining the pivoting means in positionand for normally maintaining the door in closed position.

The resilient means of thepresent invention is so shaped that it may bereadily assembled in place in a recess in the wall container so that itwill not normally come in contact with and mar other parts of therefrigerator and is so designed that the hinge structure and the doormay be easily removed when the container is to be cleaned, and while theimproved hinge structure and resilient means of the present inventionare designed more particularly for use with containers for holding anddoor or in sucha manner that the resilient means maintain the pintle inposition in a groove in the container and the cover or door in anormally closed position.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawing in which: I

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the hinge structure assembled in place on thecontainer, the door being in open position and the container and doorbeing broken away at a short distance beyond the hinge structure;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the container and door with thedoor in closed position and the hinge structure assembled in place;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on a plane passing through theline 33 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the springsutilized in the improved hinge structure;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 with the parts of i the springarranged at an angle of 90 from the position special food products, in abroader sense, they may be utilized in conjunction with containers orwalls and closures or 'doors therefor which are formed of any suitablematerial and used for any desirable purpose.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved structure for the door or closure of containers that may bereadily assembled in place without the use of extraneous fasteningmeans, such as screws.

.Another object of the invention is to provide; an improved hingestructure for'doors or closures for containers in which the hinge partsincluding the resilient means for maintaining the door in closedposition are confined within recesses in a wall of the container toprovide a neat appearance and so that neither the hinge nor theresilient means will mar other structure with which it comes in contact.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved spring foruse in hinge structures which is so shaped that it may be easilyassociated with the pintle on which a door is pivoted and in which onepart may be anchored within a recess in the wall of a container andanother part arranged in a position to engage and normally maintain thedoor in closed position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the combination ofa container and a door or closure therefor in which a wall of thecontainer has a groove therein for receiving a rod or pintle on whichthe door or cover is pivotally mounted and recesses for receivingresilient means which are associated with the pintle an alternativehinge structure according to the present invention, assembled on thecontainer.

While, the improved hinge structure of the present invention may beassociated with the wall of a container and a door or closure thereforof any desired type, as illustrated, the container which is designatedgenerally by the numeral 1 is formed of molded material having outer andinner walls 2 and 3 which are normally maintained in spaced relation bystruts or spacers, not shown.

. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, the inner and outer walls of thecontainer converge upwardly and terminate at their upper ends in theform of a flat seat 4 and a rear flat edge portion 5 upon which a coveror door 6 is pivotally mounted, and the door 6 is provided withdownwardly extending front and side flanges 7 which engage the seat 4and a rear flange 7a which is of less width than the other flanges toprovide 'a space 8 through which cold air may flow intocontact with thefood in the container.

According to the present invention, improved means are provided topivotally mount the door or closure on the container. For this purpose,the outer rear wall of the container is provided with one or morerecesses depending upon the length of the container. As shown, thecontainer is provided with a pair of spaced recesses 9 and 10 and formedin the rear edgeportion 5 of the container is an elongated groove 11which extends between and a short distance beyond each recess 9 and 10and arranged within the groove is a pintle or rod 12 on which the dooror cover 6 is pivotally mounted. While the door 6 may be pivotallymounted on the rod 12 in any desirable manner, as shown, the rear flangeof the door is provided with a pair of spaced arms 13 and 14 which aremolded integralwith or otherwise secured to the rear flange of the doorand which extend into the recess 9 and a second pair of arms 15 and 16which are molded integral with or otherwise secured to the rear flangeof the door and which extend into the recess 10. Each of the arms isprovided with an aperture through which pintle or rod 12 extends.

In accordance with the present invention, means are provided to normallymaintain the pintle or rod 12 in the groove 11 and to resiliently urgethe door to closed position. For this purpose, one or more springs areprovided depending upon the length of the container. As illustrated inFig. 2, two similar springs are provided, one of which is shown moreparticularly in Figs. 4 and 5. Each of the springs consists of a centralcoil 17, one end of which extends upwardly and is shaped into the formof a second coil 18, the central axis of which lies in a plane extendingnormal to a plane passing through the central axis of coil 17. Thecentral axis of coil 18, thus extends at an angle of 90 to the centralaxis of coil 17. To provide means for normally maintaining the door 6 inclosed position when the hinge structure is assembled in place, the freeend of coil 18 has a portion which extends upwardly as indicated by thenumeral 19 and then downwardly and outwardly to form a projection of arm20. I

The other end of coil 17 first extends downwardly as shown in Figs; 4and 5 in the form of a single wire 21, the lower portion of which is inthe form of a coil 22, the central axis of which is arranged in a planeat an angle of 90 to the central axis of coil 17. The springs may beformed of any suitable material, such as' stain less steel.

In the improved hinge structure, means are provided for anchoring thecoil portion 22 of each spring to the container. For this purpose, theouter wall of the container is provided with recesses 23 and 24 arrangedbelow recesses 9 and respectively, and which are separated therefrom bypartitions 25 as shown in Fig. 3, each of which partitions has adownwardly extending flange 26 provided with a slot 27 which extendspartially into the partition 25.

in assembling the structure, the coil portion 18 of one of the springsis arranged between arms 13 and 14 and 1 time, the arms 20 engage theflange 7a of the door and if desired spaced grooves may be formed in theflange of the cover to receive these arms. The wire portion 21 of thespring is then inserted in the slot 27 in flange 26 of partition 25extending between recesses 9 and 23 to arrange coil 22 of the firstspring below the partition 25 and in a like manner the wire portion 21of the second spring is inserted in the slot 27 in the flange andpartition 25 extending between recesses 10 and. 24 to arrange the coil22 of the second spring below partition 25. The portion of the containerbelow recesses 23 and 24 may, if desired, be strengthened by outwardlyextending webs 28 as shown more particularly in Figs. 2 and 3 of thedrawing.

With the coil portions 22 of each spring thus anchored inplace, thecover 6 may be raised against the force of the spring to a position inwhich the pintle or rod 12 may be inserted in the groove 11. It will benoted that the coil portion 22 of the first spring is now anchored inthe recess 23 and bears against partition 25 extending between therecesses 9 and 23 and is maintained in place by flange 26 of thepartition and in a like manner the coil 22 of the second spring isarranged in recess 24 and bears against the partition 25 extendingbetween the recesses 10 and 24 and is maintained in place by the flange26 extending downwardly from the partition.

When the parts are thus assembled in place, the arms 13 and 14 extendingfrom flange 7a and the coils 17 and 18 of the first spring are arrangedin the recess 9 and in a like manner the arms 15 and 16 extending fromflange 7a of the door and the coils 17 and 18 of the second spring arearranged in the recess 10 and, if desired, spaced recesses may be formedin the flange 7a of;the cover to receive arms 20 of the coils 18 of eachspring. There is therefore no danger of the springs striking and marringother parts of the refrigerator.

It will of course be understood that the partitions onlthe container arearranged at a suflicient distance from the pintle 12 so that the springwill be under tension when the coil portion 22 is anchored in place. Thesprings therefore hold the pintle or rod 12 in place in groove 11 1 andthe arm 20 extending from the coil of each spring is raised against theforce of the spring to a sufficierit extent to remove rod 12 from thegroove 11 and the rod 12 and door 6 are lowered to a suflicient extentto permit the wire portions 21 of the springs to be removed from theslots 27. When the container is formed of a molded material as shown,the recesses in the container may of course be readily formed during themolding operation.

It should be noted that the part 18 of the spring fulfills severalfunctions; it furnishes a means of attaching the spring to the pintleand it alsoacts as a lever with, the

spring 17 applying power to one end with the pintle being the fulcrumand the lever arm being the arm 19-20. The greater the tension exertedby the spring 17 the more tension is placed on the'lever arm, whichtension is more resilient because of the number of convolutions in thepart 18.

It is contemplated that the spring 17 could be one part and that thepart which receives the pintle could be a separate part. In thealternative hinge construction shown in Fig. 6 the pintle is received ina member 18a having an arm 20 extending tangentially from one side. Thespring 17 is suitably connected to member 18a to fulfill the samefunction. However, the first-described hinge is the preferred form inthat it is simple in construction and easy to assemble.

Having thus described my invention I am aware that numerousand extensivedepartures may be made there-- from without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a container having a wall and a door, said wall having an edgeportion provided with a groove anda recess extending downwardly fromsaid edge portion, a partition secured to said wall for dividing saidrecess into upper and lower recesses, said partition having a slottherein, a hinge structure including a pintlearranged in said groove andsaid door being pivotally mounted on said pintle, and resilient meanshaving a portionbearing on said pintle, a second "portion arranged inthe upper recess below said pintle, a wire portion arranged in saidslot, and an enlarged portion arranged below said partition foranchoring one end of the resilient means to the wall of said container,and the opposite end of said resilient means being in the form of an armfor engaging 'saiddoor for normally maintaining it in closed position.

2. In a container having a wall and a door, said wall having an upperedge portion provided with a groove and a recess extending downwardlyfrom the upper edge portion, a partition having its opposite endsconnected to said wall and extending across said recess to divide itinto upper and lower recesses, said partition having a slot therein,said door having a pair of apertured arms extending intoth'e upperrecess, a hinge structure including a spring having an arm for normallyengaging said door for maintaining it in closed position and an uppercoil arranged in alignment with the apertures in said arms, a pintlearranged in said groove and extending through the apertures of said armsand the upper coil of said spring, said spring having a central coilarranged 'in the upper recess below said pintle, the central axis ofwhich is at an angle of approximately f to the central axis of the uppercoil, and said spring having a wire portion extending downwardly fromthe central coil and arranged. in saidfslot, and a lower coil,the'central axis of which is arranged at an angle of approximately 90 toa vertical plane passing through the central axis of the upper coil,said lower coil being arranged below said partition and said partitionbeing arranged at sufiic'ient distance from said pintle to place tensionon said resilient means when the lower coil is anchored in place.

3. In a container having a wall and a door, said wall having an edgeportion provided with a pair of spaced recesses extending inward fromthe edge portion of said Wall, said edge portion being provided-with anelongated groove extending between said recesses .and with its oppositeends extending beyond said recesses, a hinge structure including apintle arranged in said groove and extending across said recesses, saiddoor being pivotally mounted on said pintle, a spring arranged in eachrecess having a portion engaging said pintle and one end engaging saiddoor and the opposite end of said spring being anchored to saidcontainer at a position to place tension on said spring.

4. A hinge structure for pivotally mountinga door to a wall, said hingestructure including a pintle adapted to be placed in a groove in saidwall and a spring having a first coil surrounding said pintle, a centralcoil having a central axis extending at right angles to the axis of thefirst coil, and a lower coil for engagement with said wall at a positionto place tension on said spring.

5. A spring for use in a hinge structure, said spring including a firstcoil having an arm extending from one end thereof, a second coil havingone end secured to the first coil, the central axis of the second coilbeing arranged at an angle to the axis of the first coil, a wire securedto the opposite end of the second coil which wire terminates in a thirdcoil which is arranged substantially perpendicular to a vertical planepassing through the central axis of the first coil.

6. A spring for use in hinge structures, said spring including a firstcoil having an arm extending from one end thereof, a second coil havingone end secured to the other end of the first coil, the central axis ofthe second coil being arranged at an angle of substantially 90 to thecentral axis of the first coil, said second coil having a wire extendingfrom its opposite end which terminates in a third coil, the central axisof the third coil being arranged substantially perpendicular to avertical plane passing through the central axis of the'first coil.

7. A hinge structure for a pair of members to be hinged to one another,one of said members being formed with a groove which is open at one edgeof said member and a recess which extends inward from said grooveintermediate the ends of the groove, comprising a pintle received in thegroove at opposite sides ofsaid recess and extending across said recess,the other member being connected to said pintle at said recess, springmeans comprising a first coil portion at said recess encircling saidpintle and a second resilient portion connected to one end of said firstcoil portion and extending transversely therefrom and secured undertension at its opposite end to said one member inwardly of the pintle tomaintain the pintle seated in said groove at opposite sides of therecess and to exert torsion on said first coil portion, and said firstcoil portion at its opposite end having an ofiset arm which engages saidother member to urge said other member about the axis of the pintle to apredetermined position with respect to said one member.

8. In a container having a wall and a door, said wall being formed witha groove which is open at one edge of said wall and a recess whichextends inward along said wall from said groove intermediate the ends ofthe groove, a pintle received in the groove at opposite sides of saidrecess and extending across said recess, said door beingconnected tosaid pintle at said recess, spring means comprising a first coil portionat said recess encircling said pintle and a second coil portionconnected to one end of said first coil portion and extendingperpendicular thereto and secured under tension at its opposite end tosaid container inwardly of the pintle to maintain the pintle seated insaid groove at opposite sides of the recess and to exert torsion on saidfirst coil portion, and said first coil portion at its opposite endterminating in an offset arm which engages said door to urge the door toa closed position on said container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,548,905 Schon Aug. 11, 1925 2,203,960 Hickman June 11, 1940 2,557,048Haase June 12, 1951 2,580,310 Magnenat Dec. 25, 1951 2,621,917 LandersDec. 16, 1952

